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One side effect of 2018’s long heatwave has been that the sales of alcohol has rocketed. It started with the Royal Wedding celebrations on a sundrenched May day which then morphed into World Cup football parties as England’s form surprised us all and well, with the long balmy nights, many of us haven’t stopped drinking since.

The chances are you are now quite used to cracking open a bottle of rose after work on a Tuesday with Majestic reporting rosé sales are up 28% in volume, for the financial year to date, compared to the previous year. Same for Champagne sales (up by 49% year-on-year) and sparkling wines up 53% year-on-year too.

But while the warm weather may be encouraging all this good cheer, our livers may need a break. All perfect timing for Club Soda - the “mindful drinking festival” - which takes place in London tomorrow and was launched last year to cater for those wishing to party without the painful morning after.

This year they have invited 30 drinks producers to ply the expected 10,000 festival goers with non-alcoholic beer, cider and spirits, instead of the usual vodka, beers and swimming pools of gin.

Whether you make it down to the one-day festival or not, you may still decide that you want a weekend off from the booze and feeling slightly sozzled so here’s a handy guide to what to choose instead of your normal tipple.

Shrubs, or drinking vinegars, as they’re also known, might sound revolting but they’re the perfect non-alcoholic option for wine drinkers, says Eder Neto, head of bars at Hakkasan Group, which launched an “orchard list” of 30 non-alcoholic drinks at their five London restaurants this year to replace the wine list for non-drinkers.

“Shrubs are made of fruit, herbs and apple cider vinegar, and so the acidity and the variety of flavours make them a natural swap for wine,” he says. “If you prefer white wine, try a vinegar made of white fruit like mandarins; red fans would prefer a red fruit-based vinegar and can match it to their preference for light or heavy bottles.

If you’d choose a mature red on a wine list, try something like Uchibori’s fruit vinegar (around £12), which has a stronger taste than a strawberry or cherry vinegar by a producer like Yarty - that would suit tastebuds that prefer a younger, lighter red.” Easily available online is Nonsuch (£3.50), a cherry drinking vinegar produced by Borough Wines which tastes like a “young Bordeaux”, they say.

Dilute with tonic or water to serve.

Beverages from the new "dry list" at Hakkasan, London, UKCredit:
Rii Schroer

GIN GUZZLERS

Seedlip - the world’s first non-alcoholic spirit - now sits subtly among the stronger bottles behind most bars and can be mixed with tonic for a perfect alternative to a G&T. Seedlip recommends Fevertree’s cucumber or elderflower tonic, to give the drink as much flavour as its alcoholic equivalent.

You can also use it to make non-alcoholic gin martinis, says Greg Almeida, head bartender at Scarfes Bar at the Rosewood hotel in London. “People are asking for them quite regularly now,” he says, “and Seedlip makes that possible. By distilling botanicals such as hay, water mint and peas, they have created a spirit with the same botanical flavours as gin, but none of the hangover.”

If you’re not a fan, try a craft soda or tonic, such as Luscombe’s Damascene rose (four for £6 at Abel and Cole) or Square Root’s botanical spritz (£2), which have the same bitter and floral notes as gin cocktails, Neto adds.

The taste of rum can be recreated with “spicy, smooth, nutty flavours” and anything with a hint of coffee or almond, says Greg Almeida. Scarfes’ new cocktail menu, which is inspired by key figures in British life, includes a non-alcoholic ode to politician Sadiq Khan – who doesn’t drink – made of pistachio barfi (a traditional Asian sweet), almond, cardamom and coffee. “Coffee and almond flavours in non-alcoholic drinks also work well for people who like cognac, and whisky drinkers would like spicy flavours,” he says.

Try making the Sadiq Khan cocktail at home by mixing 100ml of tiger nut milk (£2 at Waitrose) with 50ml of cold brew coffee (also available at most supermarkets) and serve with crushed ice and a garnish of coconut flakes and crumbled, roasted pistachio barfi, if you can find it – if not, toffee, fudge or an Italian nut biscuit would work well.

VODKA LOVERS

Because vodka is a neutral spirit without a lot of flavour, its easy to find an alternative. What you switch it for instead depends on what you’d choose as a mixer, Neto explains. “If you’d order a vodka and tonic, craft tonics from a company like Square Root, which have a small London brewery, are a perfect alternative,” he says.

“I’d go for the artemisia tonic which has a slightly bitter taste because of the wormwood and mugwort plants in it and there’s a touch of lime which vodka and tonic drinkers would recognise. If you prefer vodka and lemonade look for something sweeter, such as Akashi’s tai ‘cider’, which isn’t cider as we know it over here, but has a sweet, fizzy taste.”

Scarfes’ new cocktail menu is inspired by key figures in British life, including a non-alcoholic ode to politician Sadiq Khan – who doesn’t drinkCredit:
GLYN KIRK /AFP

BEER DRINKERS

The great news for pint drinkers is that the second healthiest thing you can drink in a pub after water is non-alcoholic beer, the organisers of Club Soda say. It’s low in calories, has no added sugar and there are hundreds of low or non-alcoholic lagers, craft beers and ales on the market with sales increasing year-on-year as “normal” beer orders reduce. The best thing about it is the fact it looks exactly the same, so no-one has to know you’re not drinking if you can’t face the peer pressure.

If you’re looking for something different, how about a glass of wood? Ogam, a wood water made from oak, chestnut and acacia in France, is brand new on the UK market this year and pours like beer into the glass with a frothy head (it has a hint of marshmallow to the taste).

It’s currently only available at Hakkasan’s restaurants, but the Amazing Forest birch water, which is completely organic and has the same natural sweetness, is available online for around £3. It’s made from the sap of silver birch trees in Belarus and has a clear, silky taste. Ordering it will put you way ahead of the trend – wood water is expected to become the new coconut water.

“Sparkling juices are made using the same fermentation process as sparkling wine so make a great alternative to prosecco or champagne because they have the same bubbles,” says Neto.

Many wine producers also produce non-alcoholic bottles using the same grapes. For an alternative to prosecco, try Australian producer Patritti’s sparkling white muscatel, or their sparkling shiraz juice if you’re looking for something similar to a sparkling rose (both are around £5 online). Serve from flutes in the same way you would prosecco or champagne.